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DragonCon

Hello and welcome to twenty-eighth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. Every year Whitney heads to Atlanta, GA to mingle with other geeks and practice her puppetry skills at DragonCon. DragonCon is the biggest fan run convention in the United States and in 2016 there will be over 75000 attendees and over 3500 hours of programming. Even though he is working 24/7 until the convention ends, Dan Carroll, DragonCon’s head honcho, had an hour to chat with Whitney about the new happenings for 2016, including animation and puppetry guests.

DragonCon is a totally volunteer run convention located in Atlanta, GA.

Whitney and Dan both love the diversity of programming available to attendees. The program topics range from the classic sci-fi shows like Star Wars and Star Trek to science, puppetry, podcasting, animation, anime/manga, and, this year, boy bands!

DragonCon is also a huge music festival within a convention featuring singers and musicians from all genres.

One of the new things for 2016 are the Dragon Awards! The Dragon Awards honor individuals in literary, TV, film, and other mediums who have made extraordinary contributions to science fiction and fantasy anniversary.

The Dragon Awards also celebrate DragonCon’s 30th. anniversary.

DragonCon is four days log with over 3500 hours of programming. These hours include performances, lectures, presentations, and dances. DragonCon is alive 24/7 during Labor Day weekend!

Whitney and Dan both encourage DragonCon attendees to take care of themselves by showering, eat two meals, and get at least five hours of sleep. Also don’t forget to wear deodorant in the Georgia heat to avoid the con-funk.

The best way to ensure attendees have the best DragonCon experience is to download and use the DragonCon app to make a schedule, view programming, and rate programs.

Brian Henson and several other famous puppeteers are going to be there, much to Whitney’s excitement. The cast of iZombie, William Shatner, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon cast members, Mystery Science Theater folks, and Adult Swim guests will be in attendance.

Whitney is a huge Labyrinth fan and this year is its 30th anniversary as well. The Center for Puppetry Arts is holding a masquerade ball with original props and puppets from the 1986 film. Unfortunately, that has sold out. However, there will be more Labyrinth based programming at DragonCon.

DragonCon does host two sports: professional wrestling and robot battles. In Whitney’s defense, some people do attempt to play Quidditch sans broom.

DragonCon could officially become a five-day event in the future.

One day Whitney hopes to be a guest at DragonCon with her book on Lotte Reiniger.

The DragonCon Masquerade Parade is the most popular event and this year it will be broadcast on network television.

DragonCon limits the amount of time reporters spend with guests, so they too, can enjoy the convention.

The shopping has expanded as has the art show, comic creators area, and gaming.

Dragon expects to have 75,000 attendees this year, when in past years they only had 28,000.

DragonCon has a huge programming track for animation fans. There is Kaleidoscope, a tween-based animation track, and then the animation track itself that covers a variety of topics related to the medium.

Dan Carroll has fun at DragonCon by practicing his stand-up comedy at Project Cosplay.

DragonCon has a staunch anti-harassment policy for all attendees so they fell safe and can have fun.

Hello and welcome to eighteenth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews. Every year Whitney attends several of the biggest conventions in the US and one of her favorites is Dragon-Con held in Atlanta, GA. Dragon-Con is a big convention with an intimate feeling, because it allows you to have up and close interactions with the guests and it never feels too over crowded. The Dragon-Con staff are super organized and they are dedicated to ensuring fans have the best experience. Whitney also loves Dragon-Con for its diverse programming, especially the puppetry and anime/manga tracks. She was privileged to chat with puppetry track coordinator Beau Brown and anime/manga track coordinator Jake Trabox about the special events for Dragon-Con 2015.

Jake Trabox heads the anime and manga track at Dragon-Con.

He missed the entire anime and manga boom in the US, because he was in Japan.

Jake has worked in the Japanese comics industry

Dragon-Con is a huge convention, but it hasn’t gotten outrageously huge as San Diego Comic-Con.

Voice actors Samantha Inoue-Harte, Josh Greel, and Melissa Fahn, and many more awesome people will be at Dragon-Con

There won’t be any Japanese guests this year, it is difficult to get guests from the land of the rising sun to visit the east coast.

There will be two rooms playing anime 24/7.

Funimation is making a special appearance and showcasing their newest shows and other great anime

Dragon-Con isn’t unique amongst anime/manga conventions, but you’re going to have a great time, meet great people, and be in the center of the action.

Anime and manga fans have encouraged other fans to cosplay and wear more elaborate and intricate costumes.

Darius Washington will hold a panel about how anime has shaped the animated heroine.

Jake and his staff are going to be working very hard during the convention. Jake keeps going by drawing on his inner chi.

Jake explains to Whitney how the convention scene works in Japan and it is practically nonexistent. There is one huge convention, Comiket, and then companies host smaller events featuring celebrities.

He also tells her how the European and Dubai convention scene is growing.

Beau Brown heads the puppetry track at the 2015 Dragon-Con.

There are thirty-eight hours of puppetry-related panels this year.

There are going to be many special guests from Sesame Street, including Carroll Spinney, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrera-Rudolph, and Pam Arciero.

The Sesame Street performers will be featured guests at panels as well as holding workshops on puppetry.

DJ Guyer and Steve True have their own LA puppetry studio and they make a lot of commercial puppetry. They’ll be handling workshops on construction and design.

Jim Henson’s daughter Cheryl Henson will be a guest along with Henson archivist Karen Falk.

They will be discussing Jim Henson’s unfinished holiday special Turkey Hollow.

Steve Whitmire who performs Kermit the Frog and Debbie McClellan vice-president of the Muppets at Disney will be appearing to speak about the new Muppets show.

Beau explains how Dragon-Con has worked with Henson guests in the past, including Fraggle Rock related guests from 2013.

Dragon-Con has the special focus of helping amateur puppets improve their skills and interacting with professional puppeteers.

Dragon-Con’s puppetry track has the biggest selection of puppetry material for at a comic convention.

Puppet professionals Matt Laird, Mike Horner. Madison Cripps will be featured in panels. There will also be a panel discussing the Center for Puppetry Arts expansion.

In the art show, there will be a special pop art exhibit featuring items from the Center for Puppetry Arts.

If you are a puppeteer and want to learn more about perfecting your craft, there will be workshops for adults only to learn more about improving technique.

If you want to attend an entertaining and mature show, check out the Dragon-Con Puppetry Slam, one of the most attended events at the convention.